This invention relates to a beacon signaling device for locating ski equipment which has been separated from the skier or buried in snow, and particularly it relates to a strobe signaling device.
Ski equipment, specifically skis and ski poles, is easily lost or buried in snow, especially in powder snow, whenever a skier falls and the skis or poles are released and become separated from the skier. It is particularly desirable to release skis and poles to minimize the risk of injury to the skier during a fall. A so-called safety line may be used to tie a ski to a ski boot in order to prevent the free flight of the ski. However, the safety line represents a safety hazard to the skier, since the skier can easily become tangled in the safety line during a fall and the skis can carom and collide with the tumbling skier thereby resulting in severe injury.
The need for and use of safety lines has decreased, particularly since the invention of the automatic ski brake (see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,989,271 and 4,078,824). Nevertheless, a released ski or pole is subject to free flight to some degree and can easily become buried in snow. The problem is particularly acute in powder snow conditions in which the snow is characterized by a dry, light, extremely loose and low density cover which is easily penetrated by a relatively long and narrow structure such as a ski pole or ski. Consequently, ski poles and skis are particularly difficult to find a powder snow.
A device is therefore needed to aid in retrieval of ski equipment such as skis and poles in snow, particularly in powder snow, after separation from the skier.